Anne-France Goldwater (born July 14, 1960)"Anne-France Goldwater: attention à l'arbitre!"
''

La Presse is a French-language online newspaper published daily in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1884, it is now owned by an independent nonprofit trust. ' was formerly a broadsheet daily, considered a newspaper of record in Canada. Its Sunday edi ...

'', September 3, 2011. is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

lawyer and television personality, best known as the arbitrator on ''L'Arbitre'', a

court show A court show (also known as a judge show, legal/courtroom program, courtroom series, or judicial show) is a broadcast programming genre comprising legal dramas and reality legal programming. Court shows present content mainly in the form of legal ...

which debuted on the V television network in 2011."Anne-France Goldwater chosen to be Quebec’s version of Judge Judy"
. '' The Gazette'', July 29, 2011. Goldwater was born in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, the daughter of lawyers Sam Goldwater and Ruth Zendel. She studied law at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

before being admitted to the

Bar of Quebec The Bar of Quebec () is the regulatory body for the practice of advocates in the Canadian province of Quebec and one of two legal regulatory bodies in the province. It was founded on May 30, 1849, as the Bar of Lower Canada (). History The begi ...

Law

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

lawyer from

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Goldwater is a partner with Marie-Hélène Dubé in the firm of Goldwater, Dubé. The firm has been involved in some of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

's highest-profile family law cases, including '' Hendricks and Leboeuf v. Quebec'', the

Quebec Superior Court The Superior Court of Quebec () is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Quebec Court of Appeal. Jurisdictio ...

case which legalized

same-sex marriage in Quebec Same-sex marriage has been legal in Quebec since March 19, 2004, following a ruling by the Quebec Court of Appeal that the heterosexual definition of marriage violated the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms''. Quebec was the third Canadian ...

; ''Lola vs. Eric'', a case which resulted in the

Quebec Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal of Quebec (sometimes referred to as Quebec Court of Appeal or QCA; ) is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada. It hears cases in Quebec City and Montreal. History The court was created on May 30, 1849, as the Court ...

declaring parts of Quebec's

common-law marriage Common-law marriage, also known as non-ceremonial marriage, marriage, informal marriage, de facto marriage, more uxorio or marriage by habit and repute, is a marriage that results from the parties' agreement to consider themselves married, follo ...

legislation to be unconstitutional in its denial of

alimony Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance (England, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Canada, New Zealand), spousal support (U.S., Canada) and spouse maintenance (Australia), is a legal obligation on a person to provide ...

and

matrimonial regime Matrimonial regimes, or marital property systems, are systems of property ownership between spouses providing for the creation or absence of a marital estate and if created, what properties are included in that estate, how and by whom it is mana ...

rights, a decision ultimately overturned by the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

; and Bruker v. Markovitz, a Supreme Court case which found that a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

man could be held legally responsible for refusing to grant his former wife a '' get'' following their civil divorce. She received the SOGIC Ally Award from the

Canadian Bar Association The Canadian Bar Association (CBA), or Association du barreau canadien (ABC) in French, represents over 37,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers, and law students from across Canada. History The Association's first Annual Meeting was ...

's Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Conference in 2003 for her role in ''Hendricks and Leboeuf v. Quebec''.

Broadcasting

Goldwater has been an outspoken public figure, earning the nickname "Goldfighter" for her sometimes controversial public statements. She was selected to host ''L'Arbitre'' in part because of her assertive style, which frequently sees her compared to

Judy Sheindlin Judith Susan Sheindlin ( Blum; born October 21, 1942), also known as Judge Judy, is an American attorney, jurist, court-show arbitrator, media personality, television producer, and former prosecutor and Manhattan family court judge. For 25 seas ...

on the popular courtroom series ''

Judge Judy ''Judge Judy'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin. The show featured Sheindlin as she adjudicated real-life small-claims disputes within a simulated court ...

''. Goldwater was a panelist in the 2011 edition of

Première Chaîne A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film ...

's ''

Le Combat des livres ''Le Combat des livres'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Ici Radio-Canada Première in Canada. A French edition of the ''Canada Reads'' competition, the program was launched in 2004. It aired annually from ...

'', advocating for a French translation of

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined in 1967, shortly before the departure of the founder member Syd Barrett. By the early 1980s, Pink F ...

's memoir '' The Film Club'', and in the 2012 edition of

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

's ''

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Fre ...

'', advocating for

John Vaillant John Vaillant (born 1962) is an American Canadians, American Canadian writer and journalist whose work has appeared in ''The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Geographic'', and ''Outside (magazine), Outside''. He has written both non-fiction an ...

's book ''The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival''. She was only the second personality, following

Maureen McTeer Maureen Anne McTeer is a Canadian author and lawyer, married to Joe Clark, the 16th Prime Minister of Canada. Family and education McTeer was born to John and Bea McTeer. Her father taught her and her older sister, Colleen, to play hockey, re ...

, ever to participate in both the English and French programs. On the first day of discussions in the English ''Canada Reads'', Goldwater faced criticism after calling

Carmen Aguirre Carmen Aguirre is a Chilean-born Canadian actress and writer. She plays a prominent role in '' Endgame''. Early in her life, she lived and worked as a member of the Chilean Resistance. Carmen was raped by the “Paper Bag Killer” which was th ...

"a bloody terrorist", and alleging that

Marina Nemat Marina Nemat (, ; born 22 April 1965) is the author of two memoirs about her life growing up in Iran, serving time in Evin Prison for speaking out against the Iranian government, escaping a death sentence and finally fleeing Iran to go and liv ...

"tells a story that's not true". In response, Nemat posted on Facebook, "I hope oldwatercan produce evidence to back up her claims. If not, I would like to receive a public apology from her." Goldwater responded to the criticism by stating that "When you're in a debate, I think it's gloves off. You can't apologize for taking a position in a debate because otherwise you would never take a position in a debate...in this country there is a tolerance for a difference of opinion, and if somebody just doesn't buy your story, they don't buy their story.""Canada Reads panelist defends her ‘gloves off’ comments"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', February 7, 2012. However, ''The Globe and Mail'' also noted that Goldwater approached the rest of the week's debates in a more conciliatory and supportive tone, and she ultimately voted for Aguirre's book to win the competition. In addition, ''Globe and Mail'' literary critic John Barber noted that Goldwater's initial statements about the books were essentially impossible to prove or disprove, writing that "both, with their intensely personal, unverifiable narratives, challenge readers to re-imagine the clouded borderland between fact and fiction.""Canada Reads caught in fact-fiction divide"
''

'', February 7, 2012.

References

External links

Goldwater, Dubé''L'Arbitre''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldwater, Anne-France 1960 births Lawyers from Montreal Canadian television hosts Living people Television judges Anglophone Quebec people Canadian women television hosts Canadian people of Jewish descent McGill University Faculty of Law alumni 20th-century Canadian women lawyers 20th-century Canadian lawyers 21st-century Canadian women lawyers 21st-century Canadian lawyers